ACT open to dialogue with PNP on profiling concerns

The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) partylist welcomes a dialogue with the Philippine National Police (PNP) in order to discuss the latter’s profiling and surveillance of the former’s members

ACT Partylist Rep. Antonio Tinio said that they want to directly express their concerns and problems to the PNP after a leaked memorandum showed that the law enforcement unit requested public and private schools to submit an inventory of educators affiliated to the partylist.

PNP Chief Dir. Gen. Oscar Albayalde explained that the profiling of ACT partylist members seeks to identify individuals supporting the Communist Party of the Philippines -New People’s Army -National Democratic Front of the Philippines (CPP-NPA-NDFP).

Tinio stressed that their members are not criminals, and belied the allegations that their partylist is a front organization for the CPP-NPA-NDFP.

The congressman believes that the profiling of the PNP seeks to intimidate their partylist and other teachers. He also claimed that the police wants to prevent them from winning a seat in the House of Representatives in the upcoming mid-term elections.

Tinio said that they already held dialogues with the Department of Education (DepEd), and the Commission on Human Rights regarding the profiling of the PNP.

The representative said that they plan to file a House resolution seeking a legislative investigation on the intelligence gathering operations of the PNP and the agency’s possible violations of the law and the rights of the teachers.

Tinio mentioned that the DepEd and the National Privacy Commission Act said that the PNP cannot gather personal information due to the Data Privacy Act (Republic Act 10173).

Earlier, Tinio also revealed that they plan to file charges against the PNP for what they perceive as an illegal profiling of their members.